November 10, 2014

The Trust Story

Once upon a time, there was a man who valued trust very much.
Before he decided to trust someone, he thoroughly made sure the person was worthy of trust. Only then, he felt he was ready to trust.

This meant he didn’t really trust anyone.

Except for one person: his special friend. It took him more than 10 years to do so. Before trusting him, he assessed the events that indicated his special friend was worthy of trust:

- Whenever I needed a favor, my friend would promptly assist.- When I wanted to go for a drink, my friend was always ready.- When I renovated my apartment, my friend booked all his weekends until it was done.- Even when I considered a career change, my friend was there to carefully listen and give good advice.- And when my mom died, my friend never once left my side.

For the first time the man felt he was ready to trust.

The next day, his special friend died. For the remainder of his days, the man wondered if his friend had also trusted him. And when they met in the afterlife, the first thing the man did was ask his friend if he had been trustworthy, and if so, when had he decided to trust him.Staring at the man with a look of confusion on his face, the special friend said:Of course you’re my trusted friend! I decided to trust you the day we met. And ever since you’ve never betrayed my trust: - Whenever you needed a favor, you trusted me to ask for help. - When you wanted to go for a drink, it was me who you choose to confide your secrets.- When you renovated your apartment, you allowed me and no other to enter the privacy of your home to rebuild it. - Even that time -- remember? -- when you were considering a career change, again it was me who you turned to for advice. - And when your mom passed, I was the only one you accepted at your side.

Your actions have taught me the meaning of trust!

The man stood there in shock, thinking: You never fully know what people are capable of. By this token, you’ll never really know when you can trust someone.

On the other hand, if you give people a trust credit, and let them show their level of trustworthiness, you might be surprised at how much they feel you trust them, and so, respond to you at the same level.

The end.

Credits: I first heard of a credit for trust from my dear friend Florian Mueck.